The question may be what other teams want to pay him and, perhaps more important, for how long. It's a bit like the Buerhle situation last year. AJ has been quite durable, but he is getting up in years. I don't know the numbers, but I have the impression that Ventura was sitting him a bit more than Ozzie did in previous years.

Nope. AJ started 121 games this year, compared to 112 last year. The 121 starts is normal for him over the course of his career.